jimnyo

hi,
i'm driving from the airport to hoffman estates out to willow creek church. mapquest says i'll have to take 2 toll roads: I-294 or I-90. does anyone have any idea about how much cash i'll need to have when i arrive to get through these tolls? thanks!

rkkwan

Two to three times of ~$0.50 to $0.80 each.

CAPH52

Just to be on the safe side, take LOTS of change! In an effort to push everyone into using IPASS (even those of us who infrequently use the tollways), the Tollway Authority has doubled the tolls for everyone without an IPASS. (This after telling us a few years back, when they nearly doubled the yearly registration fee, that tolls would eventually be eliminated!) What used to be a 40 cent toll is now 80 cents, etc. I don't know precisely how many tolls you will encounter but I'd recommend having at least $3.00 in quarters and at least a dollar in dimes and nickels. Most toll plazas on the road have manned toll booths where you can use bills. But most exits require exact change. The tollways around Chicago are in the process of being changed to "open road tolling" so some of the toll plazas are pretty zooey (zooy?) right now.

BTW, my daughter's best friend works at Willow Creek Church.

CAPH52

Should probably have said that most toll plazas on the road have manned toll booths *in addition to the automatic ones where you just throw in your change*.

jimnyo

thanks for all the help! so, would you say it's worth someone from out of town looking into getting one of these IPASS thingies? how do i go about doing that?

CAPH52

Not unless you're going to be here a long time. They're the electronic things that attatch to your car and are read as you zoom through the appropriate lane at the toll plaza.

Sorry for not making that clear in my previous post.

flamingomonkey

Actually, you probably will have to hand your cash to the attendant. I know on the Tri-State at least, the baskets are gone as they are now constructing open road tolling. Cash fares are 80 cents. You may need change if the plaza is on an exit ramp though. Incidentally, I don't know when you're arriving, but be prepared for the trip to take twice as long as you think it will. Traffic is horrendous in Chicago, almost 24/7.

Lamchop

Go to www.Illinoistollway.com and click on Toll Info. Looks like it has tolls for every plaza listed.

Good luck!

jimnyo

wow, thanks for the great tip!!

tomboy

This thread reminded me of an experience 30+ years ago, when I was auditing the New York State Thruway Authority. I mentioned to one of the exec/mgrs. that,since about 60% of the annual expenses were spent on toll collection, couldn't they be money ahead by just charging truckers for an annual pass, letting cars go free, or other imaginative options. His response was along the lines of, "we've got an nice bureaucracy here, why muck it up with an idea like that?"

rkkwan

What's better than the MA Turnpike? If you travel in a car in the western section, you get a ticket and then give it back to a live-person, all for free.